The name of the city in Albanian is Kumanova or Kumanovë and in Turkish is Kumanova, while in Serbian and Bulgarian is the same as in Macedonian: Kumanovo (Куманово). The name derives from the Cumans, a Turkic tribe that invaded in the area in the early 12th century.[1]

The Municipal Building in Kumanovo (built as an Ottoman police station)

Kumanovo is situated in the northeastern part of the Macedonia, near the capital city of Skopje. The coordinates of the city are approximately 42°05'N and 21°40'E. Kumanovo lies 340 metres (1,115 feet) above sea level and is surrounded by the Karadag part of Skopska Crna Gora mountain on its western side, Gradištanska mountain on its southern side, and Mangovica and German mountain on the Eastern side. Kumanovo has a temperate climate. Skopje airport also serves Kumanovo.

The population of the city of Kumanovo according to the 2002 census numbers 77,561, the majority of which are ethnic Macedonians 62.4% (48,416), with a significant minority of ethnic Albanians 23.7% (18,369) and Serbs 7.4% (5,746).[3]

The area boasts several prehistoric settlements, among which are the Kostoperska karpa, the Bronze Age Gradiste near the village of Pelince, the Neolithic site of Mlado Nagoričane, the Iron Age tumulus Groblje at Vojnik, the Roman Necropolis Drezga of Lopate, and the Roman Settlement Vicianus at village of Klečovce.

The first written mentioning of the individual modern villages of the Kumanovo region originate in the 14th century. These are, for the most part, found in Serbian charters: of King Stefan Milutin, Emperor Stefan Dušan, Sevastokrator Dejan, Jevdokija Dejanović, and Dejan's sons, Jovan and Konstantin. In this time, the Kumanovo region (old Žegligovo) received its geographical location and certain settlement picture.[4]

The town was first mentioned in 17-th century.[6]Evliya Çelebi described it in 1660–61: "The colony of Kumanovo is situated on the territory of the Skopje sanjak and represents one county. The city is embellished with many rivers and 600 tile-roofs houses. The mosque in the downtown is beautiful, there are tekke, madrassa, hammam, a number of shops and water mills; and the climate is pleasant and agreeable. There are many vineyards and gardens".[citation needed]

Commemoration plaque at Skopje dedicated to Karposh's Rebellion.

In 1689, Karposh, a brigand commander in the region of Dospat (present-day Bulgaria), who served as an Ottoman Christian auxiliary force commander, took advantage of the weakening of the Ottomans and discontent that arose concerning higher Ottoman taxation policies, and organized a revolt while Austria staged an attack on the Ottomans. Karposh's Rebellion quickly spread, resulting in the liberation of Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Kumanovo, Kačanik and other towns. Then, together with the Austrian army led by Emperor Leopold I, the local Christian population fought to liberate Skopje and Štip. Later changes in the military and political situation in the Balkans had crucial downwards effect on the revolt. The Austrian army was forced to withdraw and the reinforced Ottomans attacked the rebels, taking Kriva Palanka, the rebel stronghold, and then attacked Kumanovo and its newly constructed fortress, where they capturedKarposh and put him to death on the Stone Bridge across the Vardar.

Kumanovo became an urban settlement and administrative center of the region at the end of the 16th century or the beginning of the 17th century. Following the turbulent events (notably, the Karpoš Uprising in 1689) the city experienced a period of stagnation, and by the end of 18th century Kumanovo epitomized an Ottoman provincial town.

The Kumanovo Uprising, led by Serb district chiefs of Kumanovo and surrounding districts, was active from January 20 to May 20, 1878 (4 months). The chiefs swore oath in the local church and appealed to Prince Milan IV of Serbia to aid the uprising, and they pledged their devotion and loyalty, and union with Serbia. The rebels were finally defeated by brigadier-general Hafuz Pasha.

IMRO Kumanovo Seals

The Skopje Revolutionary district of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) decided in 1894 that it would organize a committee in Kumanovo, which was later established in the house of Jordan Jovčev. Notable IMRO activists from Kumanovo include Jordan Ivanov, Jordan Jovčev, Metodij Stojanov, Zaharij Gjorev and Mihail Šumanov.

The anti-fascist insurrection of Macedonians and the struggle for national and social liberation began in Kumanovo and Prilep on October 11, 1941. On 11 October 1941, in Kumanovo and Prilep started the antifashist struggle of the Macedonian people. The struggle ended with victory and formation of the Macedonian federative state in the Yugoslav Federation (SFRY). One of the famous partizans from Kumanovo was Hristijan Todorovski-Karpoš shown on the picture. After 1945 Kumanovo experienced fast economic, administrative and cultural development.

It developed economically in the late 19th century (agriculture, handcrafts and trade). Still, industrial development occurred only at the end of the Second World War. The rapid economic, administrative and cultural expansion of Kumanovo began in 1945. Today, it is a modern city with approximately 100,000 inhabitants. It was also the site of the June 9, 1999 Agreement signed between FR Yugoslav Generals and the NATO Generals about bringing in a NATO peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo called, the Kosovo Force, or KFOR (Kumanovo Agreement).[7]

The Albanian insurgency in Macedonia first started in the mountains outskirts of Tetovo and then spread in May 2001 to the region of Kumanovo mostly to the north. The armed conflict in Kumanovo mainly resulted in a division of the educational system along ethnical lines. All the Albanian-language students left the schools and demanded new schools to be opened. Following this process there is a visible separation in the town affecting the inter-community relations. The Law on Local Self-Government, Article 44 (Sl.besnik br.5/2002), envisages the establishment of the Commission for Inter-community Relations (CICR). CICR is a consultative body in the Council of the Municipality of Kumanovo and is formed by 12 representatives of the Macedonian, Albanian, Roma, Serbian, Turkish and Vlach ethnic groups. CICR aims to develop and improve relations between the ethnic communities and to ensure active participation of minorities in decision-making on issues that have ethnic nature and are found in the agenda of the Council of the Municipality of Kumanovo. Other organizations active in bridging the community divide include the Center for Intercultural Dialogue (CID), Roma community center DROM, the local Red Cross and others. One of the most effective systems for supporting the inter-community divide is through the youth centers MultiKulti managed by CID Kumanovo. These centers offer space for youngsters to meet, and apart from learning about each other, they also get youth work support.

The town's metal-processing, tobacco, agriculture, footwear and textile industries have made it an economic, trading and cultural center of approximately 135,529 people. Agriculture and trade developed mainly in the 19th century, but the city's modern look was established after the Second World War.

A railway connection exists between Skopje with Serbia via Kumanovo. In 2013 rehabilitation of railway section between Kumanovo and village Beljakovce will start which is part of Railway Corridor VIII that will connect Macedonia and Bulgaria.

A 40 kilometre (25 miles) highway exists between Skopje and Kumanovo, going near Kumanovo in the north and crossing the border with Serbia. On the section Kumanovo-Miladinovski there is a Pay tool. Section of the Pan-European Corridor X was put into use in 2010 connecting Kumanovo to the border crossing Tabanovce. The 7.6 kilometres (4.7 miles) highway was built for 4 years and at a cost of 15.5 million Euros. Another important road goes from Kumanovo to Kriva Palanka and then to the border with Bulgaria.

Kumanovo has several monuments dating back to the prehistoric period. The most important ones are: Gradište, an archaeological place of interest that is situated near the village of Pelince and dates from the Bronze Age. Near the village of Mlado Nagoričane is another interesting site dating from the period of Neolith. Near the village of Lopate is the Drezga place that represents a Roman necropolis.

The oldest folklore assemble in the Macedonia, KUD "Panče Pešev" is placed in Kumanovo. This year the assemble is celebrating 80 years of existence. It has represented Kumanovo and Macedonia on many international folklore festivals in Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Turkey, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Poland, France, etc. The president is Mr. Miroslav Krstevski.

Kumanovo has a library “ Tane Georgievski Library”, cultural center Trajko Prokopiev, museum and national theatre. Several painting colonies and exhibitions take place every year in Kumanovo or in nearby villages. Kumanovo is distinguished by its jazz festival which features bands from all over the world. In 2002 the Macedonian bands Foltin and Dragan Dautovski Quartet, as well as bands from Croatia, Hungary, Netherlands, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro participated in the festival and in 2005 bands from as far as the Netherlands and Norway participated.

Every year Kumanovo has a “Days of comedy” festival, sponsored by the Macedonian Ministry of Culture, featuring comedies from several Macedonian theatres and also from neighbouring Serbia and Bulgaria.

Kumanovo municipality was organizing the manifestation “City of Culture 2006”.

Macedonian National Football Team played friendly match with Egypt in Kumanovo on the 29th of September 1998. The game took place at Gradski Stadium Kumanovo and the scorers for Macedonian team were Zaharievski Srdjan and Šainovski Dževdat. The match ended 2:2